Staff Software Engineer

BlackSky is a real-time intelligence company specializing in space-based intelligence platforms providing satellite imagery and analytics. The Staff Software Engineer role involves developing and maintaining software for autonomous operations of the BlackSky satellite constellation, with responsibilities including system design, coding, and operational support. The position emphasizes leadership growth, collaboration across teams, and requires expertise in Python and Go for production-level systems.

Responsibilities:

• Design, implement, and maintain software for the components making up BlackSky’s mission management services
• Participate in design reviews, code reviews, and team planning discussions
• Take an active role in testing, debugging, and documenting implemented software functionality
• Proactively identify problems with requirements (lack of clarity, inconsistencies, technical limitations) and communicates these issues early
• Interface with mission planning, ground software, and platform engineers to plan and execute autonomous constellation operations software products
• Assist with operational tasks to ensure stability in production environments and support ongoing constellation operations and customer fulfillment efforts
• Support on-call rotations and troubleshooting of live system operations as needed
• Support Launch and Early Operations of new satellites
• Other job-related duties as assigned

Requirements:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree or higher in one of the following fields: computer science, mathematics, physics, statistics, or another computational field or equivalent experience
• A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant software development experience
• Fluency in Python, a strong understanding of Go, and comfortable using other languages when necessary
• Expert knowledge of software design, maintenance, and implementation including data structures, data retrieval and storage, algorithm efficiency, and maintainable scalable code
• Demonstrated initiative to identify and solve problems or inefficiencies in your current field of expertise
• Possess strong team and inter-team cooperation and organization skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a strong understanding of audience
• Ability to sustain a workload consisting of several concurrent, independent activities
• This position may support programs which require US citizenship
• Familiarity with satellite first principals such as orbital mechanics, attitude dynamics, and satellite systems
• Expertise in software/hardware performance characteristic
• Experience with automation of complex systems (satellite, vehicle fleets, drones, etc.)
• Knowledge of geospatial systems or data